A Guide to Becoming an Everday Prince Charming
by RoseScor90
Summary: Rose Weasley and her friend make a list of requisites for a Prince Charming, just for fun. But what they find is definitely not funny, atleast not in Rose's case. Why was Scorpius **** Malfoy involved in her project anyway? R&R!Rated T for paranoia!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not JK…

A/n: Another Rose/Scorpius multi chapter but I still cannot claim credit to the idea. It was from the Prince Charming challenge, hope you all like it!

Chapter 1: The beginning

Aquila Walters closed the book she had been reading, her childhood copy of Muggle fairytales that had been her most prized possession back then, infact, it still was. She sighed contently, a stupid smile gracing her pretty face. Reading fictions, especially fairytales made her euphoric. It was nice to lose herself in the land of princes and princesses and happily ever afters, if only for a little while. Her sense of peace and quiet was disturbed by the entrance of an irate Rose Weasley, who kept muttering under her breath as she went about rattling her trunk for no apparent reason. She was seemingly seething, swearing colorfully under her breath while she upset the order Aquila had painstakingly restored to the room just that morning. Her normally wavy auburn brown hair was starting to fizz, clearly indicating that she was pissed off.

"Again?" Aquila asked resignedly, and Rose nodded hurriedly before she hid herself in the trunk. Five minutes and lots of loud swears and thrown objects later, Rose swished her wand to make the objects return to their original places, or in the case of the broken ones, to their original state. She plopped down on Aquila's bed complacently, her face apologetic and ashamed. Since this was the routine with her best friend, Aquila didn't mind, and simply stared intently at Rose. Rose let out a sigh and relented, explaining.

"It was nothing really,…" she played around with a loose thread from the mattress, so as not to look into her eyes which told Aquila clearly that she had something to hide.

"Almost all your spats seem to start that way" Aquila replied smiling, remembering the numerous fights that her friend and her almost cousin had had over the past years; right from their first day at school, if she remembered right.

"Not funny, Ila! I swear, it was so totally his fault this time" Aquila actually chuckled this time; she couldn't help it. This was the standard statement Rose made right after sparring with Scorpius. And her cousin would just as passionately declare on the contrary. Stuck between them, Aquila would have suffered if it hadn't been for Albus, who was in the same dilemma, what with Rose being his cousin and Scorpius, his best mate.

"Laugh all you want! I'll get even with him one day, just you wait"

"I think the score is already a million to a million, Rose. Enough rounds to make anybody's eyes cross, if you ask me"

"You're just too gentle to stand up to gits like him, Ila. Don't worry, I have it all mapped out" she let out an evil laugh, that did not befit her thin form at all. But Aquila knew better than to think her friend fragile, far from it.

"You aren't going to knock him out with the quaffle again, are you?" The said incident had happened in the thick of one of their frequent long lasting wars, when Rose had chucked the Quaffle straight at Scorpius' head. Rose played chaser on the team and Scorpius played keeper, and it had only been practice, but Al still hadn't forgiven his cousin for it.

"That was fun but no. It has to be something different, something new. Something that would likely teach him not to mess with me, preferably ever again" she rubbed her hands together, thinking. Aquila knew Rose didn't mean it, atleast the last part. Without Scorpius, Rose's life would be bland and boring. The same was true for Scorpius also, but of course both of them would deny it vehemently. If staying away from each other was what they wanted, why did they constantly seek each other out? Neither had an answer, and would immediately change the topic if asked.

"Just make sure you don't completely screw your chances of getting together"

"I don't want to date that arsehole! What ever gave you that idea?" Noticing the worn out book nearby, Rose groaned.

"Now I know. How many times will you read this Ila? Don't you have it memorized already?"

"The book is really nice, Rose. If only you'd give it a read…"

"I don't need to read books that make the girl seem like a helpless glass doll; damsel in distress? No thanks" Rose shook her head in disbelief, but Aquila smiled.

"But you do admit it would be good to have a Prince Charming that would love you?"

"Funny, Ila, quite funny. Why would I need someone who would forever act mushy and gush about my beautiful eyes and charming manners?" Aquila laughed out loud; trust Rose to picture the crudest version of a prince not to mention her lack of charming manners.

"Those are not the sole requisites to be a Prince, you know?"

"What more would you need to be sappy and all around disgusting?"

"There are several things. There's a whole list of them" Aquila replied secretively, trying to pique Rose's curiosity.

"Enlighten me, oh wise one and we will see how many of the sods in this school are Prince Charming material. I dare say it would give me something to spend all the extra time on my hands on." Rose mocked, acting humble.

"Well, the easiest would be the physical appearances, so…"

A/n: I know it was a crappy beginning, but please do stay with me. I swear it will get better!


	2. In The Hands Of The Enemy

Disclaimer: Not JK…

A/n: First of all, thanks so much for all the reviews, alerts and favorites! They kind of made my day!

And of course, I've been a very bad updater, without any acceptable reason at all. *hides behind a wall*.

I'm so sorry about that! I swear I'll update at least once a week from now on!

Onto the chapter then!

Chapter 2: In The Enemy's Hands

Rose looked up from her History of Magic notes as a little crumpled ball of parchment landed softly before her. She ignored it, thinking it would most likely be her cousin or his arrogant git of a friend. But then, it would most likely have smacked her in the face, swatted her quill away or at least spill her inkwell. It really wouldn't place itself before her demurely. Intrigued, Rose unfurled the bit and was greeted with her friend's handwriting. Her friend's curly, elegant looking letters that made her writing look like a bale of hay, making her insanely jealous.

_Hair will be a lovely golden brown and always immaculate_ Rose sighed as she shook her head. Aquila had been turning her brain out to come up with the most simple of all identifications. Turning to the side, she spotted her friend seated a few rows back, smiling imploringly at her.

Rose chuckled lightly to show that she was amused and wrote below the single line, chiding herself even as her uneven scrawl made the words above look even more stylish. Silently muttering a charm to make it reach the table behind, she watched from the corner of her eye as Aquila opened the crumpled folds.

_You mean not eternally messy and lopsided? That sure narrows it down_ Aquila read the line a few times before they made sense. She choked on her laughter, drawing the attention of Albus who was seated behind her, so far asleep.

"Wha…?" His befuddled look make Aquila smile, and she turned back to studiously scribble a response.

_We can surely rule out half the population of Hogwarts?_

_**What are you talking about? Me?**_

Rose's irritation mounted as she gazed at the almost illegible scrawl of her cousin. Albus was a dear relative and though she'd never admit to it in a Weasley family party, her favorite cousin. But, as she realized now, he could be intervening and overconfident when the opportunity was presented.

_No you dolt! Didn't you read the words __**not**__ eternally messy?_ Rose could hear the noise of a slight bit of shuffling behind her; no doubt Albus taking offence over her words and Aquila trying to pry the paper from him before any harm came to it.

Scorpius looked up from his furious note taking when he heard a slight noise from the direction he knew Al was seated in. Sighing resignedly, he turned back to find him holding a piece of parchment away from…Walters? Why was he doing that? What was in the parchment that made the girl look right flustered?

With a muttered Accio, the piece of parchment that had been fiercely fought over flew into his hands. Opening it, he was first noticed the varying handwritings, or just one in particular.

_Weasley was passing notes in class, was she?_ A smirk formed on his face even as he pocketed the paper, several plans launching themselves in his mind, not one in favor of the redhead.

Ignoring incredulous looks from Walters and Al and the no doubt fatal ones from Weasley, he continued his notes, ignoring the frantically whispered calling of his best mate for the next hour; he had use for this parchment.

XXXXXXXX

"Argh!" Rose almost threw the book in her hands away, only stopping herself at the last moment, realizing that it was her mother's copy of Hogwarts a History and she would skin her alive if Rose did anything to damage it.

Aquila, who had been reading her story book again, glanced at her, and noticing her infuriated expression, went back to read the book.

"How can you be so calm! That...that dimwit has the parchment! He could do whatever he wants with it! I mean…that's so totally ammunition in his hands!" Rose made a sweeping motion of a blast, prompting three chuckles.

Aquila, she could ignore; her dear friend had endured her rant for a few hours now; Al, maybe because he was her cousin and related to her by blood; as for the third voice, she had no reservations.

"You…you foul, loathsome…" Rose stopped when she saw the offending thing in his hand, which he held to himself like a shield. He was smirking, but there was also something else in his stormy grey eyes…mirth?

"Dreaming of Princes, are we, Weaslette?" He waved it in front of her face, taking care to hold it just out of her reach. Not that Rose would have tried to pluck it from him like that; she wasn't a puppy pining for a bone.

"I see no reason why it should bother you, Malfoy, since you're the very epitome of _Princely_ behavior." Even Aquila couldn't hold back the chuckle at Rose's sarcasm.

"I think you're making progress in the Compliment and Sweet Words Department, Rosey dear. The only ones remaining are the looks, the behavior and…the grades, of course." Scorpius' face was the very definition of sincerity, but Rose wasn't fooled. She had seen him flatter people, girls in particular, tom many times to believe even a word of what he said.

"And since you are prone to mistaking an insult for a compliment, I'll take what you intended as an insult to be a compliment, shall I?" Rose folded her hands unconsciously but unfolded them immediately. The Muggle Psychology book she had read had said that folding your hands indicated a closed mind and stubborn nature, both of which she was trying not to get over.

"Take it whatever way you want, Weasley, but this…" Scorpius said, indicating the note "Is so totally going to be my trump card." A devilish smirk came upon his face, and Rose almost groaned. There were no limitations as to what he would do with it; Rose shuddered thinking of the least injurious possibilities.

"You can do nothing with it. It's just a useless bit of parchment." Rose tried to say it off handedly, but she had a sneaking suspicion it came out sounding nervous.

"Oh really? I suppose you do know that the entire population of Hogwarts has been waiting to see why the 'oh so great Rose Weasley' doesn't date. What would they say when they find out that she has been waiting for her 'Prince Charming'?" Rose was distracted from biting Scorpius' head off at this point by Albus.

"Scor, I don't think that's…" Albus shrugged to Scorpius in a helpless gesture, but Scorpius seemed to understand.

"Come on, Al, even you have to admit the mighty Weasley needs to be taken down a peg or two, or several." Albus had the good grace to blush as he looked at his enraged cousin.

Rose was fuming; _not that it was anything new when that slithering ferret was concerned_, but more so than usual. She was all prepared to show just who needed to be taken down one too many pegs when Scorpius, seemingly bored with the conversation, shrugged his shoulders.

Wiping off imaginary bits of dust from his cloak, he said, "I think I've had enough boring talk for one day, Al, don't you? See you on your day of humiliation, oh sorry, coronation, Your Highness." With a final smirk and a wave to Aquila, Scorpius left, leaving Albus and Aquila behind to try to calm down a murderous Rose.

A/n: And the second chapter is up! I know it's taken me waay too long to update this, but I promise the updates would be a bit more regular from now on!

And of course, reviews are loooove!

Bonjour!


	3. What's with the Creepy Eyes?

Disclaimer: Still not JK…

A/n: I know I'm utterly late in updating, and I'm totally not going to give stupid reasons. I'm just a lazy idiot. But it won't happen again, sorry!

Chapter 3: What's with the Creepy Eyes?

"And Weasley scores again. I wonder what has gotten into her today. Probably she imagines the hoops are Malfoy's head?" I chuckled at that; was my strategy so apparent?

I took a minute to fly down to the announcer's stands, "Well, Jordan, if you don't stop commenting on my strategies, I'll imagine your face is the hoop." Laughing as Jordan, a puny third year, gulped in fear, I returned to the air and an annoyed Albus.

"This is a serious game, Rose, not practice!" Albus yelled at me, and I knew I was in for another of those talks of my cousin. While I loved him to the end of the world, I hated his speeches to the same extent. I could see Malfoy grinning behind Albus' back. Sending him a superior look, I focused my eyes somewhere to the left of the hoop and widened them dramatically.

"Look Al, the snitch!" As Albus turned, I used the momentary distraction to fly to the other end of the field where the Hufflepuff Chaser was rushing towards the hoops. I flew neck and neck with him, making a grab for the quaffle; he kept dodging me, damn him.

A sudden idea flashed in my mind and I flew right beside him calmly for a few feet. The Chaser, getting suspicious, turned to look at me. I smiled back at him beguilingly, flying left in the last minute. When the Chaser looked back, it was too late. He hit the Gryffindor Keeper in all his speed, sending the both of them crashing into the hoops. They toppled to the ground dangerously, but were saved in the last minute by the safety spell that was used on the pitch to minimize damage.

It was one Chaser down for the Hufflepuffs but our Star Keeper, note the sarcasm, was lost; no doubt it would make Albus angry. But I couldn't be worried about his wrath now; I still had a game to win. I swerved to the right as a Bludger flew past me and towards the other two Chasers who were throwing the balls between them like they were teddy bears. I am a most ardent feminist, but even I couldn't help admit that these two were utter dumb heads. I flew at them from under, intercepting as the girls passed.

With the quaffle in my hands, I headed straight for the other hoops. The Keeper there was quite talented, I had to admit. But of course, I've been playing Quidditch since I was old enough to walk. I kid not. The Quaffle sailed through the right hoop, giving us a better edge towards the win. We'd win, no doubt, but the margin counted. That was where the Chaser's talent lay.

"And…Potter's seen the snitch! Kelly's right behind him, they seem neck and neck. Potter goes for a nose dive and POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" The crowd went ballistic and as I landed, I was lifted on the shoulders of the crowd. It had been a good match, but the team's captain, who was glaring at me, seemed to think otherwise.

He couldn't reach me through the crowd, thankfully enough. I raced to the commonroom before he could catch a hold of me, and rushed up the stair of the Dorms before the crowd could come in. Trust me, you don't want to get caught in the stampede.

When I was reasonably sure I didn't smell like mud and sweat, I walked out of the dorms in a simple jeans and white T-shirt. I preferred simple dresses, they were just so comfortable. So what if they were a bit rumpled and seemed well worn?

Aquila gave me a thumbs up as she saw me. She was seated beside a grinning Albus, who was flirting with a fourth year on his other side. Well, if there is one thing you need to learn about Albus if you are a girl, it is just this: run when he tries to flirt. I swear he flirts with anything and everything in a skirt. I think he even tried it with a portrait once. Yeah, creeps me out too.

But the strangest thing is that he never even looks at Aquila the wrong way, for which I'm thankful. Because otherwise, I'd have to hunt him down for hurting her and family feuds were never pretty for the reputation.

"Thanks, Ila. It was a good match, wasn't it?" I grinned as I pushed between the two of them, taking care to push Albus just a little harder so he would notice me. I grabbed a bottle of Butterbeer from one of the floating plates and drank from it, leaning leisurely on the couch, "So, cuz, how do you think the game went?"

"Rose! Just the person I was looking for!" Albus greeted with a big smile. Now when Albus greets you happily, it means he is glad. When he greets you extra happily, it means, you run for your life.

"Whatever for?" I asked with a sweet toothed expression; of course I knew he would yell at me for the trick back at the field. Something about 'sacrificing players for a team not being enough compromise for a mere goal'. I rolled my eyes as I got ready to tune him out.

"Do you even have any idea what you've done, Rose? Scorpius is in the Infirmary with half his bones shattered! Do you even care that he might not be able to re-grow some of them magically and there is a slim chance that he might even _die_?" Albus' voice was a low hiss. Thankfully no-one but Aquila heard him and she seemed to be in too much shock, for she didn't jump to my rescue or even agree with him. Her eyes were sending silent questions to Albus, but he just shook his head in a 'Not now'.

"Well, didn't he know that there was a chance for this when he joined the team?" I asked, unmoved. I leaned back on the couch, taking a second sip of the drink.

"That's…You're being unreasonable, Rose! There was no need for you to slam into Scorpius like that. It was an unnecessary maneuver, Rose." I had expected this, so I merely rolled my eyes and turned to Aquila, expecting her to side with me. But she just shook her head disappointedly, sighing as she added, "I know the two of you don't get along, Rose. But to the extent of endangering his life? I thought you knew where to draw the line."

Huffing, I stood up from the couch and walked out of the commonroom; my mood to celebrate was spoiled. My wanderings led me to the doors of the Infirmary and I came to my senses only as I was about to open the doors. Shaking myself and giving myself a light slap for good measure, I turned back and began retracing my steps.

By the time I reached the commonroom the party was over and everyone had either retreated to their dorms or had passed out on the floor. Aquila was helping a few other Gryffindors clean up the place and I joined her gladly. I thought she might have forgotten about the earlier incident, but she turned her face away from me, thrusting a trash bag in my hand without even turning my way. Confused, I collected the trash from the floor silently. I didn't try to talk to her after that; if she was going to act all indifferent to me, she can very well go ahead.

One by one the stragglers woke up and stumbled back the steps to their dorms, most of the cleaners following them. There were only a few left when I heard what sounded suspiciously like a sob. Shocked into carelessness, I turned around just in time to see Aquila wipe the stray tears that had been coursing down her cheeks, "Ila?"

She wiped the remaining tears hastily, straightening rather quickly. She grabbed the trash bag from my hands, taking it along with hers to deposit in one corner of the room, where the House Elves would collect them later. It was a nice arrangement, one that had earned my mother's complete approval; no doubt Aquila why had become my Mum's favorite.

"What is it?" I asked again as she began walking in the direction of the stairs. We were on the other side of the commonroom, so I was able to take a hold of her arm before she reached there.

We stood in the middle of the room, bathed in the light from the hearth, as Aquila's eyes once more bubbled over with tears. She leaned on my shoulder as her body raked with sobs. I hugged her to me and patted her back, stroking her hair as her crying subsided. She looked up at me with red rimmed eyes, brimming over with such anguish as I couldn't even fathom the reason why.

"Aquila?" I never used her full name, but it slipped unconsciously out seeing her in this state.

"It's…it's Scorpius. He's…he's very ill." She explained amid choking and hiccups.

"It's was all my fault, wasn't it?" I asked feeling terribly guilty. The few hours of roaming had made me realize my mistake and though I'd never actually say it out loud, I was berating myself for hurting Malfoy. If he dies, where will I go for another person who is as annoying and as arrogant as him to foolishly try standing up to me?

But Aquila shook her head in a clear no, "It wasn't you. That idiot didn't let the other team's Chaser take the hit. He told me that he thought you would feel less guilty if he got hurt instead. I don't know if he was being compassionate or cruel or prejudiced; but he is definitely hurt." Aquila's voice failed at the end and she settled for looking at me with questioning eyes.

"I'm sure his head is stronger than to be broken by a simple Quiddicth goal hoop," Aquila let out a half sob half laugh, but there was something building in me; something that wanted to rage and destroy, "He will be fine, Ila; he better be. Or I'll bring him back from the dead if only to kill him again."

"Let's go." Aquila dragged me upstairs, probably afraid that I'd damage the commonroom. Needless to say, the following nights were spent by me staring at the night sky plotting ways to murder him; it was simply the only emotion I was able to bring myself to feel.

XXXX

"He would love to have you for company." Aquila whispered in my ear; I belatedly realized that I had been unconsciously bending the fork in my hand.

"And dragons are really Pigmy Puffs in disguise." I replied back to her in the same low tone. The argument had been going on between us for a few days now. Apparently, I had been right; Malfoy's head was all right, as was the rest of him. Pity, for I'd love to have taken at least a few fingers off him. Now, Aquila wanted me to visit her cousin but I wasn't interested.

"You should visit him, it's only right." She tried a different track and sadly, it was the only one that was working.

"He'd probably freak out and scream for the Aurors to catch the murderer." The prospect was humorous and I had to bite my tongue not to laugh out loud.

"He'd most probably be asleep. He has to sleep a lot to regain his strength." Aquila replied consolingly, but it irritated me.

"I'm not afraid of him seeing him," I replied rather snappily and added, "And he isn't Sleeping Beauty."

"Rose, Sleeping Beauty was a girl," Aquila replied amused, "And I never mentioned kissing, did I?"

I would have blushed if I hadn't hidden it behind my temper. Aquila had the strangest of habits; putting oddly compelling images in my head. Like this kissing Malfoy one, but no way was I ever giving in, "A male version, then," I shrugged noncommittally, "And don't make me puke." I added for good measure.

"A Prince, you mean? He doesn't fit." Aquila replied matter of factly, but my interest was piqued, now.

"You still haven't given up making the list?" I asked, wondering why she did that even after the embarrassingly disastrous turn of events that had happened.

In actuality, what had happened was that Malfoy had used the piece of parchment to manipulate me to the extent possible and when I at last refused to do his biddings, made sure everyone read it by blowing it up and hanging it in the middle of the Great Hall.

It hadn't affected Aquila all that much because everyone knew she loved dreaming; it was me who couldn't show my face in the Hall for a straight week. The match had been revenge for that and as far as I am concerned, he got off easy.

Aquila shrugged as if to say, 'As if I can help it' and spoke in a hushed tone, "The eye color doesn't match. A Prince's eyes need to be the clear blue of the sky, and warm."

"So it will make the Ice Princess melt?" I asked with a laugh but Albus entered the Hall right then so we dropped it.

Situations between my cousin and I hadn't improved any; in fact we had had several rows after the party and each of them ended with him giving me an accusing and disappointed look right before storming away. He had begun to give me the cold shoulder once he realized that his words weren't working so Aquila was thrown into the position of the mediator between us, unfortunately. He gave me a stiff nod that made me wonder if he had sprained his neck, and a strained smile before he sat on Aquila's other side.

"I'll be heading to classes then, Ila." I replied just as tensely before leaving the Hall with my book bag swinging behind me. Two could play that game.

As I was stepping outside the Hall, I felt a pair of eyes on me; staring unwaveringly. When I looked back, I was almost sure I spotted them; the pair of grey, hard orbs that were both familiar and unwelcome. But of course, I must have been dreaming. He couldn't be here; he was still at the Infirmary.

Smiling at my hallucination, I walked back to the Dorms to pick my books up.

A/n: Next chapter, Rose goes to meet Scor! Hope you will hang on with me!

And do review?


	4. Like A Cat In The Rain

Disclaimer: Not JK…

A/n: So the next chapter, finally. Hope it is as good as I wanted it to be because this is for Sid(SidSaid) on her birthday! I know it isn't a one shot and a WIP, but I wanted to dedicate this to you Sid!

Chapter 4: Like A Cat In The Rain

Rose walked carefully through the corridors, trying to avoid standing for too long in front of the windows lest the cold penetrate the thick layer of clothing she had on. It was pouring outside and even Rose, who loved the rain, couldn't help but think that such torrential downpour might possibly wash out the entire castle. Folding her hands close to her body, she drew her cloak over it, making herself a cocoon. Feeling a bit warmer, Rose continued with her patrol. She was patrolling alone; as she had been for a while now. Since the Quidditch match, to be precise. Memories she had tried to avoid penetrated the wall of her mind and Rose sighed; she was losing this fight. In a way, she missed her normal patrol partner. Thoughts of him invariably brought up the unavoidable guilt that caught at her throat. Fifteen days; a solid fortnight had slipped by without her seeing him. It had been a week since he had been released and Rose was still studiously avoiding him. It wasn't a hard task, seeing as he was doing the same. The only unavoidable times were the classes but she had taken to sitting near the front desks, avoiding even that small chance. The only time she felt his presence was when he walked by her desk to his and most times, she pretended to be immersed in her book to evade him.

Even the Heads commonroom seemed devoid of the usual cheer and the banter that was the norm every evening. Rose had begun to hole up inside her dorm, partly because she was afraid of confronting him and partly because she couldn't take the loneliness. It took her ego a lot of hits, but she had admitted to herself, sometime in the past week that her normal day consisted of Scorpius way more than it normally should; _it was just arguing_ was the only consolation she had for herself.

Shaking aside the familiar feeling of cold that enveloped her every time she thought of him, Rose finished her rounds and returned to the Heads commonroom, confident that she wouldn't encounter any unwanted person a.k.a. Scorpius.

"Stingy," she said to the portrait of the little girl with a bouquet of lilies in her hand, taking careful steps into the room. The girl seemed a little bit ruffled; could it be Scorpius' doing? But inside, there was no indication that he had been inside. The fire in the hearth was unlit, his books were arranged the same way she had seen them be when she had left for rounds; _maybe he hadn't been in the mood for studying_. Shrugging, Rose lifted her eyes to his dorm room; the room was wide open, which was unusual.

A frown breaking through the unaffected look on her face, Rose walked up the stairs, making sure to make enough noise if he was inside after all. A quick look through his dorm room told her what she had guessed; he wasn't in there.

A weird feeling catching hold of her heart, Rose walked quickly down the steps and floo called the Gryffindor commonroom. Thankfully, it was Aquila who noticed her and not Albus who would obviously have ignored her and wasted her time with his snarky remarks. If someone had told her a month ago that her closest cousin could be such a jerk to her, she would never have believed it, but now…

"Rose? Is something wrong?" Aquila's face turned concerned as she kneeled before the fire; she knew Rose never called unless it was important.

"It's Scorpius; I'm sure he might still be patrolling or he might have gone to the Slytherin or Gryffindor commonrooms but I just wanted to make sure; his dorm room is wide open; he hasn't touched his books; he…" Rose's unconnected words halted when Aquila's expression turned worried. After talking with Albus for a minute, Aquila gave her the news she had feared; Albus hadn't seen Scorpius since the last class; no-one had, for that matter.

Flashes of Scorpius lying in the dungeons, unknown to anybody; Scorpius screaming from a migraine; Scorpius walking carelessly down a flight of stairs….the images crossed unhindered across her mind; each causing her to panic more than the previous one. She pushed it aside for Aquila's sake and tried to smile, though she was sure she failed.

"He might have got held up; maybe he caught someone out after curfew and had to deal with them," she told her friend and broke the connection, quickening her footsteps towards the portrait hole. After inquiring with the girl, Rose was reasonably sure where he was and walked with determined footsteps towards the spiral staircase.

_What was he thinking? Did he have no sense of self preservation at all?_

XXXX

Scorpius caught the three Quaffles that zoomed towards him at alarming speed in a flash, throwing them back. The balls floated in mid air as if they were puppets before they disappeared. Scorpius didn't panic; he had been the one who had duplicated them and charmed them to act on their own. Keeping his eyes out for the flash of maroon, Scorpius flew left and right restlessly; the duplicating spell had slowed down the Charm, making the balls slower than he liked. Maybe he should have practiced with just two Quaffles, but he would have been left with far too much time at his hands and time was his enemy now. Being left without time to think was what he needed; desperately.

Rain poured down by the galleons and dripped down his face; making trails down his cheeks and dripping annoyingly from his eyebrows. Scorpius pushed aside the drops impatiently, not even thinking about the sad state which his robes would be in. He, who had once been borderline obsessed about his dress; a fact Weasley had taken every opportunity to point out and ridicule. A low growl escaped his lips; he wasn't so lacking in self control. Grey eyes matching the stormy sky above, Scorpius dove as one of the Quaffles attacked him from the side; it disappeared into smoke as soon as his hands caught it. The second came from above and was caught with the same ease that was his trademark.

_Never panic_ was what his father had taught him and he wouldn't; not in the game, not in his life. Even if a fiery spirited redhead made it humanly impossible. Cursing under his breath, Scorpius looked out for the third ball, the real one, the trickiest one, which appeared in a second and was caught safely in his hands. Scorpius, lost in thought, held the ball too tightly, throwing it with all his might as the anger in him mounted. What, or who, he was angry about, he couldn't fathom.

He wasn't having a disagreement with any of the people he knew; even the Professors, who normally acted disappointed about his outwardly carefree attitude seemed to have developed a soft spot for him since his injury. The smirk which appeared on his lips evaporated immediately as the incident arose in his mind.

Scorpius had acted on instinct and had saved the Hufflepuff Chaser; but even then, he had had no doubt whose fault it was. Weasley's, altogether Weasley's. He had even seen the slightly satisfied expression on her face when he had fallen; the last thing that had haunted his eyes and his dreams until he had awoken.

Admittedly, Scorpius knew it had been rather too much to expect Weasley to come meet him at the Infirmary. They were enemies and they had a war going between them; it made sense for her to gloat and enjoy her victory. Why then had he waited for her? Woke up everytime he thought he heard footsteps? Started everytime a flash of red caught his attention?

His own questions enraging him with no way for escape, Scorpius showed it the only way he could; by being moody and downright rude to the people around him. Even his mild mannered cousin Aquila had walked away from him with a hurt expression when he had spoken to her sharply. He had felt bad about it for hours afterwards; he had even apologized to her, but the irritability hadn't dissipated. It had settled down in him, brewing into a wild hurricane that raged without any possible vent.

Scorpius knew who he should be cross with; Weasley, always Weasley. But all he had done for the past week was avoid her and with her aid, it was easy, too easy. People shouldn't be able to hide this easily. The Heads Commonroom had quite easily become haunted from disuse and Scorpius began hearing voices each time he set foot in there; voices of muttered rage and mocking laughter. Afraid he would become insane, Scorpius had retreated to a place he had never thought he'd set foot in; the library.

Even if he lived there, he couldn't avoid the comonroom altogether, it seemed to drag him back somehow. Maybe it was his innate wish to confront her, maybe it was his partial dependence on the routine, maybe it was plain stupidity. Running through his musings, Scorpius thought he could decide safely on the third.

Deciding that being too stationary was giving him too much chance, Scorpius banished the Quaffle to the ground and began flying around the pitch in a furious blur. He was dry in a few seconds, the speed saving him from the rain; so fast was he flying. He didn't notice, intent on not hitting onto the stands; controlling his broom was challenging enough at this speed that he had little attention for anything else.

So it was natural that he stammered when a Quaffle knocked into his side; admittedly, it wasn't very forceful so it didn't hurt. Scorpius slowed down enough to scope out the source of the interruption. It was hard to see in the pouring rain but Scorpius knew the form too well to mistake its identity.

His broom, reacting to his anger began accelerating and once again, the raindrops failed to drench him.

XXXX

Rose felt like screaming; she had been so worried about him and he wasn't even…Rose considered searching out the Quaffle again and aiming to hurt him this time. But she wasn't sure she will be able to find it in the rain. There was no moon behind the clouds; a new moon night, just her luck. Taking a deep breath, Rose turned and began taking determined steps in the direction where she thought the broom sheds would be. After a few minutes and several bruises on her toe, Rose was sure that she was going in the wrong direction. She had never used the dressing rooms or broom sheds much and it was difficult for her to find them out with the rain pouring down, obscuring her vision.

Rose hurriedly halted her steps when she sensed the lack of ground under her feet; it was too late. She was already stumbling, her heavy clothes quickening her fall, by the time she realized that she had walked towards the steep slope that formed one side of the pitch and led to the Lake. Rose flailed her arms in a futile effort to find a handhold; her breath caught in her throat as a pair of hands caught her around her waist firmly in their grip. Lifted onto the broom, Rose sat sideways in front of the figure that had rescued her. Both of his hands circled around her waist to hold onto the broom so that she was securely seated. Rose could feel the wind in her face as the rose in height. After a few seconds of excruciating silence, Rose could feel the broom slow down. She estimated that they were at least a few hundred feet in the air. It was still raining cats and dogs but Rose was already drenched and shivering so it seemed to have no effect on her. Having no other hold, Rose held onto his cloak tightly.

The broom came to a complete stop and all Rose could hear was the furious breathing beside her; the rain drowned everything else out. Not having the courage, not knowing what to say, Rose remained silent, looking around at everything but him; not that there was much to see anyway.

"Are you going to waste time like this or will you tell me _why the hell you came out in this downpour to a pitch without even a wand in your hand_?" Lightning flashed as she looked up at him, surprised at his question. His eyes were burning with the hate she had expected; but there was also something else. Before the next flash of lightning, whatever it had been was gone and Rose was left with just the enraged question to answer.

As if knowing that she wouldn't answer, Scorpius continued, "Do you even have any idea how perilous your stupid midnight stroll was? What if some animal from the forest had attacked you? What if you'd wandered into the forest by mistake and got lost? Or worse, hurt? Do you have any idea how the Lake would be in this rain?" Seeing her meek shake of the head, he continued, "It would be completely flooded; and do you know where you would have landed had you tripped and fallen? Right at the middle of the current and it would have crashed you right onto the trees and…" Scorpius shook his head as if trying to stop a train of thought. A small sigh escaped him and he asked in a low tone, devoid now of the anger, "Was this exploit really worth risking your life, Rose?"

Whether it was his almost affectionate tone, or the fact that he was calling her by her first name for the first time, Rose didn't even try retorting like she normally would have. She replied in a soft tone, "I came looking for you."

"Why? Were you afraid you wouldn't be able to finish what you started two weeks back? The Quaffle throw wasn't strong enough, for your information," Rose reeled back at the venom in his words; there was no mistaking the expression behind his eyes this time.

Eyes widening, Rose let go of her hold on his cloak abruptly, unsettling both of them. Tightening his hold on the broom, it took a moment before Rose could speak, and even when she did, she faced his palms which were holding the broom so tightly that his knuckles were turning white, "Let me down."

"No," his answer was firm and without a sliver of doubt, making Rose wonder what had gotten into him. Her anger overpowering the guilt that had so far stopped her from retorting, Rose asked, "Why? You want me to sit here and listen to you list out my faults? I'm not listening, Scorpius. You know why? Because I know them, all right? _I know them well enough without you putting in your two damn knuts_!"

Eyes glinting maliciously in the castle's wane light, Scorpius' voice was unyielding as he spoke, "It's either that or…how would you like to fall down from here, Weasley?"

Shoulders stiffening at his threatening tone, Rose replied sharply, facing his eyes head on, "I'd much prefer that to your company, Malfoy."

Scorpius lifted one of his hands from his hold and used his other to roughly push her off the broom; only when she landed on hard ground did Rose realize that they had been coming down for a while and she hadn't noticed. Standing up in a flash, Rose tried to shake off the dirt on her cloak; which wasn't a hard task since the rain washed it all away.

Resolving to give him one last glare, Rose looked at Scorpius; his cloak was clinging to him like a second skin, his normally soft looking hair was matted to his head and his face, matching that hard expression on his face. _Some Prince he'd make_ Rose thought to herself as she remembered Aquila's list: _Clothes will be perfect, both flattering and well-fitting, at all times_

Unaware of the stare she was being subjected to, Rose marched back to the castle, intent on getting a good nights' sleep with absolutely no thought about drowning Head Boys.

The image of her shocked, disbelieving expression as she fell from his broom lingered on the forefront of Scorpius' mind long after the object of his thoughts had disappeared; he still couldn't fathom why he had acted so. What had prompted him to behave so roughly towards her? Had he been too harsh? Was he wrong?

_No_; the answer was immediate; _Malfoys are never wrong; especially with Weasleys._ Thus convinced, Scorpius continued with his practice; though even he could see that his mind wasn't in it like it had been an hour ago.

A/n: I know I made Scorpius seem like a right prick, but don't give up on him yet! So, what do you guys think? Good enough? Too childish? Too cliché?


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